Cookbook
for
Inclusive Culture
Lessons from the Less Heard
How can we amplify the voices that are under-represented in the production of and discourse on culture and cultural environment, through co-creation?
This is the question we asked ourselves when we worked together in the project Lessons from the Less Heard.
Scroll down to watch the videos of the methods that we explored over the project, and collect ideas for your community! Each method relies on participatory approaches: the co-creators do not only learn about the “dominant” culture, but they share knowledge and skills and produce events acknowledging the diversity of culture and heritage.
The project is co-funded by Erasmus+ programme and ended in May 2022.
Introduction to
Cookbook for Inclusive Culture
Co-creation and storytelling methods are based solely on the joy of doing and they do not follow a higher purpose or curricula - there is instead room to follow the flow of the group. How can educators facilitate that?
When you scroll further and start looking at the videos we have created on the co-creative methods, we encourage you to keep in mind the role of the facilitator in co-creative methods.
This role can be summarized in three points:
1.
Facilitator offers the opportunity, opens the doors and waits to see what comes with people - and endures the uncertainty of having no screenplay.
Move beyond the expectations for impacts or results. That is the particular benefit if you are from a non-formal, independent organization: you have the freedom over curricula.
2.
Facilitator encourages storytelling.
The videos present the four cases as examples on the frameworks that you can connect the participant storytelling to: storytelling and exchange of thoughts is the objective, and it is important not to create or engage to outside expectations for results.
3.
Facilitator appreciates and cheers every participant on their unique contribution.
Trust that culture and encounters on the verge of it, an experience shared by different and unique people, is enough and plenty as such. Embrace the process, foster the joy of doing.
As in the heart of these productions is the process of encounter itself, through your own appreciative presence, you can create an opportunity for the participants to feel the pride in what has been done. Pride carries the inspiration beyond the workshop or the lab, as the participants feel a sense of ownership over the production: the festival, the exhibition, the garden, the jewelry.
Art 27 - Making Art Accessible for All
Art 27 organizes interactive exhibitions with a mixed audience: young and old, migrants, refugees, indigenous inhabitants, artists, musicians ... all of them. Intercultural and intergenerational learning are essential to create the intended inclusion.
To celebrate and enjoy the arts, an exhibition includes co-creation workshops, demonstrations to watch and learn, and interactive tours (inspired by the method of “Visual Thinking Strategies”).
Everyone can participate, everyone can be part of the cultural life of a dynamic community: yes we care and sometimes action is required to underline the importance of this.
The aspect of claiming public spaces for residents' activities is a crucial part of the activity: the exhibition will take over a space as a pop-up exhibition in the open, in a heritage building or in a co-created bubble ...
Do you like to create your own bubble?
Just build your own pop-up space as shown in this video.
CCB - Befana on the River Lambro - Co-Creative Laboratories
Co-creation, intercultural approach and mutuality: these are the keywords of the experience of migrants and refugees’ inclusion in the laboratories for the preparation of the Befana on the River Lambro’s Festival, organized by Consorzio Comunità Brianza and Commissione Cultura Alternativa.
The methodology of the co-creative laboratories is to create space and time for all participants and wait for their contributions to the festival. All participants, including migrants and refugees, have the chance to share symbols and myths from their culture of origin and to actively participate in the creation of cultural products.
This is an important driver to build relations and connections between newly arrived migrants and local community.
Norrbottens museum - Transformers LAB goes Sami
Sami culture has an immense talent for sustainability and a unique know-how to achieve an efficient and respectful way to manage the resources provided by nature and produce something that they need to live. In this exciting and cross-disciplinary cooperation between artists, handcrafts and sami people we will connect this less heard culture with some of the nowadays most urgent challenges related with sustainability and Climate Change impact.
Visio - Urban Community Garden of Cultures
Everywhere around the world people grow their food. The basic practice of working with the natural laws, nursing the growth of plants and harvesting the crop for alimentation is familiar to all of us, nevermind the differences stemming from different environmental conditions and gardening practices.
In a group or community consisting of a variety of cultures, ages and educational backgrounds, universal themes such as gardening are immensely valuable. These themes allow us to look and work beyond the invisible and artificial but sometimes very tangible and certainly challenging barriers between us.
In our project, Garden of Cultures, we worked together with an adult literacy training group, and connected the planning and building of the urban community garden to language learning. Watch the video for more details!
If you are a teacher / trainer / educator looking to do a similar project with your group/community, take a look at the support materials we created for getting started with the project:
to support with language challenges
2. Useful links and reading
to get you going with garden planning
3. Or if you are looking for a quick method example,
take a look at this video where we demonstrate
Try it yourself: some extra's
Back home from Helsinki, Art27 tried it out. Look for yourself:
seed bombs bring joy to people and world.
Art27 created 2022 seedbombs, together with people from far and close, young and old, different gifted but all engaged in community-building.
Co-creation and inclusion as you dream it.
And then, a party with more then 200 people to celelbrate community
and to drop the seed bombs.
Partner descriptions, links and contact details.
Art27
Art 27 is an Human Rights organization, driven by the 27th article of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, fully aware that all Human Rights are interconnected - one and undividable.
Art 27 focuses on art and language as means to stimulate self-esteem, wellbeing and empowerment as a member of a local & worldwide community.
CCB
CONSORZIO COMUNITÀ BRIANZA is a social enterprise composed of 33 partners:
25 cooperatives, 1 consortium and
7 associations operating in the province of Monza and Brianza (Lombardy Region).
Its main aim is proposing innovative solutions and actions promoting a synergetic environment and social dialogue between public and private entities, in order to create new welfare services.
Pictures speak louder than words
